Rotary vehicle washing brush



L. J. ROUSSEAU ROTARY VEHICLE WASHING BRUSH Oct. 14, 1952 Fied July 2,1948 Nv. 10m.

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Snoentor -ZO a 358g u fttornegs Patented Oct. 14, 1952 heisses aoraarvement wAsmNc nusn Leo J. Rousseau, Grosse Pointe, Mich., assigner toMinit-Man, Inc., Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan ApplicationJuly z. 194s, sei-in No. 36,691

adapted to conform to undulating surfaces while cleaning such surfaces,especially when used in the presence of a cleaning liquid, such aswater.

Another object is to provide a rotary washing brush wherein the bristlesbecome soft and yielding when subjected to a cleaning liquid, such as awater spray, so that the bristles will conform to an undulating surfaceto be washed without scratching or otherwise injuring the surface, eventhough it has particles of grit on the surface embedded in mud or otherforeign matter.

IAnother object is to provide a rotary washing brush wherein thebristles will be softened sufiiciently in the presence of a cleaningliquid such as water to tend to droop but wherein the drooping tendencywill be counteracted by centrifugal force resulting from the rotation ofthe brush, so that the brush will adapt itself to surfaces of varyingconguration such as are encountered in a motor vehicle body withoutinjury to the vehicle yet effecting a thorough cleaning of the surfacethereof. n

Another object is to provide a rotary washing brush as setforth above,wherein the brush consists of approximately annular brush units withradial bristles, these units being spaced axially from one another inorder to provide space into which the bristles can be pushed back whenthey Y encounter projecting portions of the vehicle or other articlebeing washed.

Another object is to provide a rotary washing brush composed ofaxially-spaced annular brush units having annular hubs with radialbristles secured thereto and diverging outward therefrom so as to formannular spaces between the brush units which are relatively wide nearthe hubs and which converge outward toward the tips of the bristles.

Another object is to provide a rotary washing brush as set forth in theobject immediately preceding, wherein the brush units are removable andreplaceable, so that worn brush units, particularly those at the bottomof the brush, can be replaced withoutvdisturbing the unworn brush units.

This application is a continuation in part of my copending applicationSerial No. 547,837, filed August 3, 1944, for Motor Vehicle CleaningApparatus, which has matured into Patent Number 2,579,866, datedDecember 25, 1951.

1 0mm. (ci. 15-181) Y lio In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a cross-section through a rotary washing brush according toa preferred form of the invention, taken along the line I--i in Figure2;

Figure 2 is a central longitudinal section through the rotary washingbrush shown in Figun 1 with the shaft and key in side elevation; an

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of a vehicle-washing machineshowing the rotary washing brush of Figures 1 and 2 applied to thecleaning of agmotor vehicle. shown in chain lines.

Hitherto. in the washing of objects with undulating surfaces, such aspassenger automobile bodies, great difllculty has been encountered inreaching all parts of the body and at the same time avoiding scarringthe paint by reason of grit embedded in mud or other foreign matter onthe body. Ordinarybrushes have been found either too stiff to properlyreach all parts of the surface or else they have caused scouring of thesurface which has resulted in the removal of the paint.

The present invention has successfully eliminated this difficulty byemploying annular brush umts with radial bristles, these units beingspaced axially at intervals along a rotatable shaft. The bristles arepreferably made of brous material which. when subjected to a cleanirgliquid such as water. becomes soft and yielda e. from one another, theintervals provide space into which the bristles can yield when theyencounter the protuberance, such as an automobile fender. At the sametime, the wet bristles do not scour the surface of the vehicle, hence donot remove the paint. Particles of grit are washed on by thesewater-softened bristles, without causing scratches or marring thesurface in any way. v

Referring to lthe drawings in detail, Figure 1 shows the central portionof a vehicle washing machine, generally designated li, such as isdisclosed and claimed in my co-pending application. Serial No. 547,837,filed August 3, 1944, for Motor Vehicle Cleaning Apparatus, of which thepresent application is a continuation in part, as previously stated.'I'he vehicle washing machine 5, insofar as it is shown in Figure 1,includes upwardly facing channel members 6 which serve as guide rails orpathways for the vehicles to be washed, and which are therefore spacedapproximately the same distance apart as the wheels of an automobile. Aconveyor (not Since the brush units are spaced apart' shown) travellingbetween the channel members 8 tows the vehicle between vertical framemembers 1 and 8 which form a portion of a framework I extending over thevehicle I8 and interconnected at their upper portions by members notshown herein.

The framework 3 carries swinging rotary brush assemblies I I. one ofwhich is shown in Figure 3. The brush assembly I l consists of anoscillatable frame generally designated I2 having parallel horizontalarms I3 and I4 interconnected by vertical members I5. 'Ihe outer ends ofthe horizontal arms I3 and I4 are pivotaily connected to a shaft I6which is rotatably mounted in bearing brackets I1 secured to the upright8. The lower ends of the uprights 1 and 8 are preferably embedded in thefloor. which is preferably of concrete. so as to rigidly mount them. Thelower arm I8 extends rearwardly and outwardly beyond the upright 8 intocontact with the end of a stop screw I8 which is threaded through abracket I8 secured to the upright 8 and having a hand wheel 20 foradjusting the point to which the frame i2 will swing inwardly toward thevehicle I0. The axis of the shaft l is preferably tilted slightly inwardtoward the vehicle I8 so that the weight of the brush assembly Il willcause it to naturally swing toward the vehicle I8 under the influence ofthe force of gravity.

Journaled in bearing bushings 2| and 22 mounted respectively on theouter ends of the lower and upper arms I3 and i4 is a vertical brushshaft 23 forming a portion of a rotary brush generally designated 24.The bearing bushing 2l is optionally made in the form of` a cam havingraised portions 25 and engaged by rollers 26 Journaled in a radialhanger 21 which in turn is secured to the shaft 23. As a consequence,when the shaft 23 is rotated, the rollers 26 travel in a circular pathand are caused to rise and fall as they pass over the raised portions25. saus-- ing the rotary brush 24 likewise to rise and fall.

To rotate the shaft 23. the upper end thereof carries a bevel gear 28which meshes with a bevel gear 29 mounted on the outer end of thearmature shaft 30 of an electric motor 3l. The

base of the motor 3l is bolted to a base plate 32 which also carries abearing bracket 33 rotatably supporting the outer end ,of the shaft 38.

The rotary brush 24 in addition to the shaft- 5a 23. consists of amultiplicity of annular brush units 34 spaced at intervals along theshaft 23 and driven by means of an angle bar 35 which is secured as bywelding along the shaft 23 and thereby serves as a key or spline. Thebrush units 24 are separated from one another by cylindrical spacingblocks 36 so as to provide annular spaces 31 between-adjacent brushunits 34. In order to hold the brush units 34 in assembly upon the shaft23, the shaft is provided with abutment discs or collars 38 and 33(Figure 2). 'I'he abutment disc 38 is secured as by welding to the shaft23 whereas the abutment disc 39 is provided with a flange 48 throughwhich radial set screws 4I are threaded into clamping engagement withthe shaft 23.

Each brush unit 34 consists of a circular hub 42 having a centralaperture 43 for receiving the shaft 23. suitably notched at one side forthe passage of the key 35. The hub 42 is provided with an annularlygrooved periphery or rim in the form of an annular channel portion 44into which the mld-portions of bristle clumps 45 are drawn and securedas by circular binding 5 ing wires 46. The bristles 41 are preferably ofa vegetable fiber material, such as sisal, having the property ofbecoming soft and pliable when they are soaked in water, such as beingsubjected to a water spray employed in washing the 1o vehicle I0. Theentire brush unit 24 may be of any suitable diameter. a diameter of twofeet having been found convenient in certain vehiclewashinginstallations. The fibers 41 are combed in order to eliminate oversizefibers and to obtain the proper size of fiber.

In the operation of the invention, the motor 3| is supplied withelectric current so as to cause the shaft 30 to rotate, thereby rotatingthe vertical shaft 23 through the bevel gears 28 and 29.

As the shaft 23 rotates. a water spray is applied to the rotary brush24, thoroughly soaking its fibers 41 and causing them to become pliableand soft. As these fibers of the brush units 24 encounter the surface ofthe vehicle I0, they clean .25 the mud and other foreign matterv oi thebody by a soft wiping actionl as the vehicle I8 is towed through thevehicle-washing machine.

In -the stationary position, when wet, the bristles 41 .droop downwardbut are swung upward by centrifugal force arising from the rotationofthe shaft 23. When the fibers 41 encounter a protuberance such as thefender 48 of the vehicle I0, they yield inwardly toward the shaft 23,the clumps 45 spreading out or bulging into the spaces 31 between them,as provided by the spacers 36.

Since each brush unit 24 has its fibers 41 diverging from the centralhub 42 the ends of the bristles of adjacent brush units 24 closelyapproach one another (Figure 2) whereas their inner ends are separatedfrom one another by the spacers 36. The spacers 36 are thus tapered froma maximum width adjacent the spacers 36 to a .minimum width at the endsof the bristles 5 41. This results in the creation of wide spaces at theinner ends of the bristles into which the bristles can be pushedbackward when a projection or protuberance is encountered upon thearticle being washed. At the same time, the bristles are enabled tospread out at their outer ends so as to approach one another and presentan almost continuous brush surface.

The removal of worn brush units and their replacement by new brush unitsis believed to be self-evident from Figure 2 and from the foregoingdiscussion of the construction and operation of the invention. To removeone or more of the brush units 34, the operator merely loosens the setscrews 4I from their engagement with the shaft 23 and slides the collaror retaining disc 33 off the shaft 23. The brush units 34 and spacingblocks 36 can then be removed alternately until the brush unit or unitswhich it is desired to remove are reached, whereupon these are removed.replaced with new brush fixed" retaining disc 38 as an abutmentI and theset screws 4| retightened to secure the removable retaining disc 38in'position.

What I claim is:

A rotary vehicle washing brush with rewires 43. Each bristle clump 45therefore c011- 75 movable and replaceable brush units comprising adriving shaft, and a multiple stacked brush unit and spacer assemblymounted on said shaft, said assembly including a plurality of bristlehubs of substantially equal diameters removably mounted on said shaft inaxially spaced relationship and drivingly connected to said shaft, eachhub comprising a disc having a central shaft aperture and an enlargedrim portion with an annular peripheral groove therein. said groove beingof arcuate cross-section and said rim being secured to and integral withsaid disc, a multiplicity of tufts of approximately U-shaped bristlefibers having their connecting portions seated in each groove and havingtheir free end portions projecting radially outward therefrom. anannular bristle-binding element encircling each annular groove outwardlyof said connecting portions and securing said bristle tufts in saidgrooves, spacing collars of substantially the same diameters as saidhubs removably inter- 20 posed between successive discs in engagementwith the sides of said rims. and retaining collars secured to said shaftat the opposite ends of said assembly. at least one of said retainingcollars being removably secured to said shaft. LEO J. ROUSSEAU.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 599,044 Pain Feb. 15, 18981,339,894 Johnson May 11, 1920 1,597,998 Nielsen Aug. 31, 1926 1,988,335Robbins May 22, 1933 2,044,361 McMenamin June 16, 1936 2,409,309Peterson Oct. `15, 1946 2,495,559 Weiler Jan. 24, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS yNumber Country Date 352,737 Great Britain July 16. 1931 370,531 FranceOct. 17, 1906 421,640 France Dec. 27. 1909

